Tired of Being Tired
by dustandglitter
Summary: Rosie Weasley hated being tired. More than being tired, she hated a certain Malfoy. More than hating a certain Malfoy, she hated the way he managed to worm his way into her life, all the time. Temp Hiatus due to writer's block. Do send in any ideas!
1. Chapter 1

Rayy's Rant: Nerves, nerves, nerves. Surprisingly, they only found it fit to attack when I decided to write an authors note. How pathetically lame is that? This is my first published piece of writing, so please. Reviews are nice and constructive criticism, heck, any criticism you want. But I won't take it if I think it's unreasonable. 'Cause I'm like that  Well, this is a future-future fic. Meaning: it's the new gen when they're older. This is kind of a prologue. I'm hoping chapters will be always minimum 1,100 words. Not including A/N's (or in my case R/R's.)

Ages, btw, for this chapter:

Rose: 21 yrs old. Albus Severus: 22 yrs old. Lily: 21 yrs old. Rose can be young-ish  On with the tale that's taken me a while now.

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Rose Weasley was tired of trying to sleep. She didn't want the pretence. She wanted to close her eyes and drift off into a peaceful slumber. But no, instead, she spent most nights looking up at the ceiling, listening to the eerie silence of the dark outside. Most expected her to take after her mother, the infamous Hermione Granger, what with her beyond excellent grades and common sense. Things didn't turn out that way exactly though. She was exactly like her mother with personality and characteristics but when it came down to things, she looked _a lot_ like her father, Ronald Weasley, Auror extraordinaire and best friends with Harry Potter. Rose had the red hair, the freckles, the short temper and the severe case of arachnophobia from him. She also managed to become best friends with Albus Severus Potter, adding to the legend yet further. All through Hogwarts, the two cousins were inseparable and also fairly contradictive. Whereas Albus was laid back, carefree and a god awful playboy, Rosie was refined, dignified, reserved and studious. At first, Albus Severus was exceedingly shy but somewhere along the line he got a confidence boost- Rosie swore to murder the person who gave him that- but nevertheless, friendship was never based on these factors for the truly deep folks.

Rosie dragged her 21 year old self out of bed. She was beyond tired, beyond being tired of being tired. She got up, stretching out her limbs, then shuffled to the kitchen. Sighing briefly in discomfort, she turned the lights on. Her kitchen illuminated, the surfaces gleaming brightly, the faucets shining and everything else damn-near impeccable. Another one of Rosie's faults was her intolerance for stupidity- which almost brought her to killing Albus in their First Year- and untidiness. She smiled wearily, somewhat content with the setting and got herself a glass of cold milk. Sitting down on the high stool, she drank it, drinking in the quietness at the same time. It wasn't often her apartment was loud. The only time that happened was when there was a get together of relatives or a party. Parties weren't very often at hers as she was seen as the kill joy of the folks attending and family time was also in short supply, what with everyone out making the Wizarding and Muggle world a better place. It was usually just her and Albus or her and Lily Luna Potter, Albus' younger sister by one year. Those visits were quiet, relaxing. When she was by herself? It was just a pathetic show of loneliness.

Deciding she would wash the cup in the morning, she slid off the chair once the glass of milk was empty. She was making her way to the sink when the doorbell rang, surprising her. Rosie looked at her watch and cussed. '_Who on Earth would be at her door at this ungodly hour?_' Whoever they were, they were obviously going to get annihilated in their near future. She yawned, a moment's elation that she was capable of showing tiredness, and then pulled herself to the doorway. She unlocked it, and pulled the handle, bringing the door backwards. Rosie raised an eyebrow, a newly acquired talent she was exploiting, at the soaking wet figure in the doorway. "Merlin, Lily. What happened to you?" She asked, failing to mask the amusement. Lily sighed dejectedly. Without waiting to be invited, she stepped into the house, pushing past the owner and dumping her umbrella on the floor. Rosie looked down in disdain at the saturated item. Her poor, poor carpets… All the same, she closed the front door so not to let the rain or wind in. She only now realised that the weather was damn atrocious as she walked to sit down in the living room with Lily. Shows how absent minded she'd been… "So, explanation as to why you're making my sofa liable to fungi at this hour?" she asked. Lily glared.

"Typical. No 'would you like a tea', it's all 'oh no, my poor sofa!'" She huffed. "Well, I'll have you know this is your_ entire_ fault. So, yeah, I hope your sofa _does _get fungi!" Rosie cocked her head.

"What now? Why the bloody hell is it my fault?"

"You _had_ to be such a good auror, so they send diminutive me into the cold and wet to summon you." She said, over-dramatically. The two girls sat in silence then burst out laughing. A) Lily was taller than Rosie so she _really_ couldn't call herself small & B) Lily tried to find any excuse to get out of the office no matter what the time. When the laughter died down, Rosie spoke.

"And why am I being summoned?" she asked. Lily's smile faded.

"_They're_ looking for murders. We're looking for elite." She said. Immediately the atmosphere had turned very business-like. "We don't know who, why or how at the moment. All we know is we've got more than 20 missing cases, they're all connected and we need our best people sorting this out before it turns into more of a shit fest."

Rosie sat in thought for a second before responding. "Are the targets anyone in particular? Like Muggles? Or what?"

"Half bloods. All of them." Lily replied, not missing a beat. Rosie was shocked for a moment. Usually the targets were muggles, muggle-borns and blood traitors. She shuddered at the thought. It brought her back to the tales her parents told her. All their great adventures… it didn't matter they finished the war. They killed one bad wizard but not an entire prejudice. People were still mocked for 'bad blood'. '_Jeez…_' Rosie thought, bitterly. '_The only bad blood is the blood of those with such bias and narrow opinions…_'

"Rosie... Rosie? Ro-sie? OI! ROSIE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE-"

"I'M NOT ASLEEP!" Rosie exclaimed, finally answering Lily's frantic calls. "I was just thinking. I'm wondering why it's half bloods this time…" Lily smiled, wearily.

"You were always one for justice, weren't you Rosie-kin?" she asked. Rosie's cheeks vaguely matched her name at this point.

"I'm not a justice-enforcer. I'm just against prejudice and well… 'bad-ness'" she retorted, hotly.

"Chill, chill. It's not a bad thing." Lily stood. "You're a good person." She grinned.

"Well, as much as it pains me, dear cousin, I must be off. I have a few more… well, one more person to see." She summoned her umbrella. "Hmm… dry enough, I suppose."

"Who've you got to see?" Rosie asked as she, too, stood. Both female aurors stood by the door. Lily opened it, and stepped outside. Rosie raised an eyebrow.

"This is for my safety." Lily answered her expression. It was only then, when she was out of reach of Rosie and had enough room to escape when she uttered the name. Rosie blanched. She made to grab Lily by the scruff of the neck and beat her 'til she saw sense but the younger girl had already aparated. Rosie glared at where the hazel eyed girl had once stood. This particular case might just have all credibility to drive her to insanity. Rosie slammed the door shut, and stomped over to her sofa. She flopped down onto it, her expression still sour.

'_Of all the people… Of all the ruddy people in the ruddy world… it had to that arrogant, bullying, toe rag…_' She buried her head in her pillow, muffling a scream of frustration. '_LIFE ISN'T FAIR!!'_

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Review please?

I'll give out cookies. And I'll reply.

Adieu,

Rayy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Rayy's Rant: Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the wait. I've been writing loads and I've finally worked on a decent, or so I'd like to think, chapter two. So here goes.**

**BUT: before I get on with the story I have some amazingly necessary mentions.**

**Alerters: xEmmax, ScorpiusRoseLover, Chaotic Veins & marrou – you guys are great. ;)**

**Reviewers:**

**hondagirl: First Reviewer. Awesomee. Is it Scorpius? Hmm… Here's chapter two. Is the answer in here…? Read and see:D**

**Gryffindor.Princess1014: Thanks a bunch. I'm hoping to show the characters POV a lot, even if it's not necessarily first person. Happy Writing, indeed though xD**

**potionslover: I'm updating, I'm updating! It takes time. Thanks for the review ;)**

**Phaethon: 'whodunit'? Now that's a term I've never come across before. Ah, yes. The promised review. Thank you. I think my incredibly large ego has inflated tenfold. I'm a Failed Writer, but it's all good. :D**

**-gives everyone hugs & cookies- Jeez, man. You guys are amazing :)**

**New ages for this chapt:**

**James Sirius Potter: 23 years old. (I think he's meant to be two years older, but I also think it would benefit the story if he was only one year senior, so yeah. Sorry if you don't like it but nerrrrrr.)**

**Scorpius Lucius(I guess.) Malfoy: 22 years old.**

**Also: I forgot the disclaimer last time. _All things related to Harry Potter in this multi-chaptered do not belong to me but to J. K. Rowling who is one of the best authors in the world, k? k. :)_  
**

**On with the show.**

* * *

Lily grinned as she apparated. She was lucky enough to see darling Rosie's reaction to_that_ name, it was like taboo. Laughing softly to herself, she opened the gate and followed the meandering path down to where the door of the bungalow was. She heard raucous laughter from inside the house. She could already guess who was joking indoors, especially at this time in the morning. Using her knuckles, she rapped on the door.

"And then…" James went on through laughter. "then he went 'o'right then, I'll take ya' and rams into the wall beside me!" The two men laughed even harder. You'd think of it as the oddest pairing for best friends but that's exactly what James Sirius Potter and Scorpius Lucius Malfoy were. They contrasted but clicked at the same time. They were practically related, minus bloodline - but that was a mere technicality- and looks. Scorpius was fairly pale, somewhat akin to him mother Astoria's complexion, and his hair was the trade mark platinum blonde of Malfoys. Like his father, Draco, he was tall and lanky. James, on the other hand, was a dark haired, vaguely freckled, tall and built boy, only taller than Scorpius due to age. Originally, in the blonde's first year, James had been wary of Scorpius, that being loosely related to his Uncle Ronald's words, but as time went by they became friends, what with them both being in Gryffindor and having a notorious love for pranking. Their friendship stayed strong even with him one year senior to Scorpius.

Scorpius wiped tears from his cyan eyes as he laughed with his best friend. "You're fucking kidding me!" he exclaimed through beyond heavy guffaws. "What an idiot!!" James nodded, a mischievous sparkle similar to Malfoy's in his expression.

"In the end," he said dramatically, "I paid for my drinks, drank this buggers and left this guy- who was still having a go at 'me' i.e. the wall for stealing his girl!" The two laughed once more, rolling in their seats and clutching their stomachs. Eventually they calmed down, sitting upright- or upright enough- once more. After a while of hearty chuckling, Scorpius' face lit up in reminiscence.

"Hey, do you remember when-" he was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. The blonde looked at his watch and cussed. 'Who on Earth would be outside at this time of night?' Double checking he had his wand, he went to the door and opened it wide. To his shock he saw Lily, James' little sister standing there. Scorpius and Lily were indifferent to each other. They weren't enemies, but they weren't exactly pal-ly either. This, therefore, justified his immediate question: "Merlin, what on Earth are you doing here?" Lily sighed.

"Nice to see you too." She deadpanned and, yet again, without waiting pushed past the owner of the house and stepped into the living room. "Hey, James." She greeted, taking a seat beside her older brother. "How've you been?"

"Alright, thanks." He grinned as Scorpius re-entered the room, a befuddled expression on his face. "You?"

"Hmm… fair, I suppose." She replied, she too grinning at the blonde.

Scorpius sat in the love seat in the corner, glancing between siblings. They seemed to be completely disregarding the fact it was his house and he was _actually_ present. '_Why is she here?_' Seemingly answering the question on his face, Lily spoke. "Ministry business." Scorpius nodded, going into work mode. He just caught James' mutter of 'more like Misery Business'. He lip dangerously twitched upwards as he saw his friend squirm under his younger sisters intense glare. "Of course its damn well misery," she snapped, "It's four in the morning and I'm a messenger. Anyway-"  
"Is it about the half-blood disappearances?" Scorpius asked suddenly, unable to hold his tongue. James slapped his forehead then cowered as his sister turned to face him. Without breaking her glare, she spoke to the blonde.

"How do you know about that?" she asked through gritted teeth. Scorpius gulped.

"If you're asking, it's not because your brother-" She turned and sent her death glare at him. He cracked. "Okay, okay, he told me- justdon'teatme…" he trailed off, unable to break away from her sharp look. In the blink of an eye, James' nose began spewing out bats. Scorpius clutched his nose in fear. '_So _this _is the famous Bat Bogey Hex…_' he thought. In a twisted way, it was a bit of wow but nonetheless petrifying.

After a while, Lily decided to eradicate the curse, which left James on the floor groaning in pain. "I swear, I'll never tell a secret again!!" he cried when he thought she was about to hex him again. Instead, she just raised an eye brow as she pocketed her wand.

"Two things, darling brother. One: do remember that our mother is _the _Ginerva 'Ginny' Weasley. Two: next time spare me the trip and tell me you've told him." She said pleasantly. James nodded frantically. Scorpius grinned from his seat. It was interesting to see the Mighty James get told by his sister. After a minute or two of grovelling, the very familiar look of mischief returned.

"Sister, darling…" he drawled as he got up. "I haven't told him the best news."

"The what- oh. _Oh…_" Both Potters smirked. Now this, this was rather unnerving.

"Scorpius, oh-buddy-oh-pal, guess who your dashing partner is for this case…" James sang. Scorpius sat up, looking between the two for any clues. The benefit of being an Auror was the experience of interrogation. Unfortunately, the siblings were giving nothing away. He looked at James with a puppy-dog-worthy-pout but the older boy merely winked. This was a sign he would never guess but it was exceedingly obvious. He sighed.

"Fine, _fine_, I give up." He said, finally submitting. "Who?" Out of the blue, fireworks had been conjured up in his living room. Lily and James stood laughing, guiding the bright lights around his room. James pointed his wand at Scorpius-who flinched at first, then laughed when he saw what his friend was doing. Above his head was a certain name of a certain redhead who a certain Malfoy had a rocky relationship with. When I say 'rocky relationship' don't get me wrong. I mean, the certain redhead hated the guts of the certain Malfoy and the certain Malfoy was quite the opposite. Above his head, floated the name Rosie Weasley. Scorpius couldn't help himself. "You're kidding me!" He cried, grinning. James and his sister withdrew their wands, the fireworks following suit, with Cheshire Cat smiles. The youngest Malfoy burst out loud, a blush gracing his usual pale complex all the same though. James gave him a knowing look, but said nothing and joined in the laughter. Lily smiled, probably thinking of her elder cousins reaction. '_Now that oughta be something to see…_' Malfoy thought, trying to imagine it himself. This only made him laugh harder. Eventually he calmed down enough to speak. "Aw, this is gonna be fun…" he said, breathing heavily from the amusement. His smile was still wide on his face. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Rosie darling seemed to oppose that thought…" She said, sardonically. James laughed, whilst Scorpius looked rather crestfallen.

"Our darling cousin still hates him?" The eldest Potter child asked. Lily nodded, slightly sympathetic for Scorpius. James noticed her expression and grinned. "Oi, cheer up, Malfoy," he said, heartily patting him on the back. "This is perfect, mate!"

"It is…?" Scorpius asked, dryly. He, himself, knew the loathing Rosie held for him through Hogwarts. James thought otherwise. The dark haired boy nodded.

"Sure! I mean, you could get to know her and then, later, get her into be-" he stopped seeing Lily's look. "… into a _be_tter friendship?" He looked for his sister's approval. Lily merely shrugged. Scorpius knew better and slumped into his chair, covering his face with his hand.

"_Great_." He deadpanned, his voice muffled by his palm. "We're bonding over dead bodies. _Fabulous…_" James' face lit up. He grinned.

"Come on, emo boy, I can see it now." He conjured up a stretcher and leaned over it, apparently pretending to be Rosie. "Oi… Malfoy… pass me the…" he licked his lips in a- failed- attempt to look alluring, "_scalpel_." He purred. Instead of the desired effect, he had Lily on the floor laughing and Scorpius… well… looking paler than usual, if that was even possible. Without warning the stretcher disappeared. James looked up to see a panicked Malfoy. He couldn't help it. He too burst out into laughter.

"James… never… ever… ever… _ever_… try imitating Rosie again… _EVER!_" Scorpius yelled. Unfortunately, his best friend found his pleas funny. "POTTER! I'M NOT KIDDING DAMMIT!"

* * *

Meanwhile, a pissed off Rosie sneezed, interrupting her very own storm-around-the-room-being-miffed routine. She rubbed her nose and carried on. She was vexed. No, she was beyond vexed. Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius _bleeding_ Malfoy. The very same damned bastard James called his best friend. _Why?_ She had no idea. All she knew was she hated him with a fiery passion. Contrary to the common thought, and she'd told dear Scorpius this, this hate was not because he was a Malfoy. At the beginning of her Hogwarts life, she'd smiled at him- even waved once or twice- completely aware of his blood and surname. But Rosie Weasley _still _hated him. Why? Because Scorpius was an arrogant, bullying toerag who thought he was funny, hot and- forgive the age old saying- the bee's knees. In reality, Rosie knew the truth. Scorpius was a poxy bugger, intent on going to hell. He would, one day, and the eldest Weasley could only hope to send him there. Rosie sulked, taking a sip from her new cup of cocoa. 'Knowing him,' she thought bitterly, 'he would work alongside Satan himself…' Seeing a phase of self-pity emerging, she dove into the kitchen drawer and took out her sleeping pills. These were only for emergencies, to be quite honest. Rosie glared at the small bottle. '_This is a damned emergency…_' She swallowed the necessary and put the bottle back inside the drawer. Then, she dragged herself up the stairs, leaving her cocoa on the surface. She'd wash up tomorrow. Right now she _was_ going to sleep; even if it was just for this night. She needed the energy to deal with the Malfoy fool in the morning. She settled in her bed, and finally- after a lot of tossing and turning- drifted off into a sleep. She was completely out. It wasn't real sleep, even she knew that, but it was sleep and that's all that mattered. The slumbering redhead snuggled further into the comforting blankets…

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**Here we go. A finished chapter two.**

**Cookies, hugs and ice cream to the reviewers of this chapter?**

**I'll love you guys more than I already do. And that's a lot.**

**Adieu,**

**Rayy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Rayy's Rant: I am beyond sorry. I've taken forever to update and I feel horrible; but I have a few good reasons. And, because I love all who read this so much, I'll tell you why:**

**I have been worked to an extreme by my parents because I have some vital exams this year.**

**I've been in and out of hospital (bloody annoying, if you ask me).**

**'Depression'.**

**Writer's block.**

**Those are probably pathetic excuses, but still. I want you all to know, I'm sorry I didn't update and I'm updating now. But, before the long awaited chapter, response:**

**Firstly; continuous thanks to: xEmmax, ScorpiusRoseLover, Chaotic Veins, marrou, daniela1417, Missdagane, keightlin, TealCrystalCAT & supergirl911 – amaZING. :)**

**Secondly: individual response to:**

**Hondagirl: yeah, you were right J I had to include some sort of understanding between Lily and James. Heehee. James and Scorp; yeah. I wanted something nobody had ever done before. And I figured their personalities might be similar. You'll see slightly why, trust me. & Thanks for the tip; hopefully everyone can review now.**

**Gryffindor.Princess1014: Shucks, I'm blushing. Thank you very much. You're not the only one shocked by the two. Potter? Malfoy? Never, they all think. :) Don't torture me. Sorry for delay!**

**Marrou: Aw, I love kids, they're great. What do they think of my story? Lol. I'm glad you reviewed. Nice hearing from you!**

**-cookies, hugs and ice cream to everyone-**

**Btw; Phaethon. I'm gutted. I had no review! :(**

**FYI: I own none of J. K. Rowling's characters. I've realised now I forgot the disclaimer in both previous chapters. My bad. I also do not own Kellogs Corn Flakes, Coco Pops or any other recognisable feature in this tale. I do, however, own this plot line. Steal and I'll send my ninja posse on you.**

**On with the show.**

* * *

A pleasant sleep was exactly what Rosie had wanted. A pleasant sleep was what Rosie had got. There she lay, bathing in dreams sea-deep, perhaps even a ghost of a smile painted on her face. Who knew she was capable of such a feat… Rosie nestled further into her warm blankets, in her mind; peace… _She floated, dancing, laughing, smiling, weaving through the richly coloured tree's. She was in an orchard somewhere. She distinctly remembered visiting this same place sometime when she was younger… probably one of Aunt Fleur's relatives' gardens in France. She inhaled the fruitful smell, filling her lungs with as much so as possible. She saw a figure, standing in the shadow of some tree's. She cautiously stepped closer, smiling in relief to see Albus there._

"_Hey there, cuz." He said, grinning. "Playing hide and seek with the rest of us?" Rosie shrugged._

"_Who's playing?" she asked in reply._

"_Everyone, really." He replied, nonchalantly. Rosie took a minute for thought, then nodded eagerly._

"_Sure, smell you later." And with that, she took off; searching for a hiding place. The eldest Weasley loved it. She was acting like a 4 year old, sure, but she didn't care. She hadn't felt this free in years. It felt… good. No, it felt beyond good. It was great! Fantastic! Magnificent! It was more than words could say. She span haphazardly a few times, picturing herself in one of those musicals, like The Sound of Music or Joseph and the Techni-coloured Dream Coat. Then in caught her eye. There, in the corner… the perfect hiding place. A great tree stood tall and proud- not to mention hollowed out, making it the ideal place to be. Red locks swaying as she ran, she skidded to a halt and crawled into the tree. It was an easy fit and she made to sit in the corner when she realised someone else was there._

"_Hello?" Rosie called, hesitantly. "What are you doing, hiding?"_

"_Obviously." And just like that, her dream turned into a nightmare. That voice. Rosie turned in horror to face the speaker more clearly. As if sensing her horrific curiosity, the tree lit up brightly. "Don't look so shocked, Rosie, _everyone's playing_, including me." She shook her head frantically._

"_It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream."_

"_Rosie…" he sang, "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie-poo. Give me a kiss or two. Rosie-kin, Rosie-loo, say that you love me too. Rosie. Rosie Weasley." And she screamed louder than she ever had._

"MALFOY!!" Rosie shot up, frantically kicking underneath her sheets. She shakily raised a hand to press to her forehead in relief, when a voice spoke up.

"Yes, darling?" The freckled 21 year old shuddered. She knew the voice- that cocky, arrogant, self-absorbed, smarmy, full-of-it, voice- anywhere. Slowly, she turned her head to face the smirking platinum blonde sitting beside her on her bed. Cue another ear-splitting scream from the main character. Rosie jumped up, pulling her sheets around her vest-top-and-shorts PJ's and kicking at Scorpius.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" She shouted.

"Me?" He cried in disbelief, shielding himself from all kicks directed at vital area's. "You're the mad woman. Damn it, _stop that_!!" Rosie glared icily at him.

"And why, oh, _why_ should I do that, _partner_?" She spat out the word as if it was a bad taste. Scorpius beamed at her.

"Ah, Lily did say she'd told you." He replied, seemingly immersed in thought as he effortlessly blocked her attacks- thus irritating the redhead yet further. "Come on, you can't _still_ hate me."  
"Shock-ity shock: I do." She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. Seeing that no more damage could be done until she was truly awake she stepped down from the bed. "I am going to shower then I am going to get dressed. You are going to get out of my room right this instant and stay in my lounge until I tell you to do otherwise, do you hear me? You do not touch anything, you do not say anything, you do not move from your place on the couch. Preferably, you don't breathe but it's not a perfect world. Kapeesh, anyhoo?" Rosie stated calmly- or as calm as one could in her current situation. Scorpius grinned up at her.

"Sure you don't want company? It's been said I give the best massages."

"_Malfoy-_" She began, harshly.

"I got it, I got it. I'm in the living room, not talking, not moving, not _touching_, not breathing. Kapeesh." He mumbled dejectedly, trudging through the hall. He paused in her bedroom door. "_Unless-_"

"MALFOY-" She was once again cut off by the blonde.

"_Alright_…" he sighed, walking down the corridor. "Jeez, you'd think I tried to rape her…" he muttered to himself. Rosie glared in his direction, then exhaled deeply.

'_Calm, Rosie,_' she silently told herself, while gathering her belongings, '_he'll get what's coming to him in a bit… Just wait it out… Relax… Cool it, girl…_'

* * *

Half an hour later, Rosie emerged from the bathroom feeling cool and refreshed… well, almost. There was the still the problem of the infuriating Malfoy in her apartment and it wasn't doing much for her sanity- or lack of. She dumped her wash clothes in the hamper by the boiler cupboard and made her way to where the trouble sat. Much to her surprise, he'd been silent. She eyed him suspiciously as she moved to the kitchen, pouring out some 'Coco Pops' into a bowl.

"Nothing broken?" She asked, hesitant to jinx the case, whilst pouring a sufficient amount of milk.

"Nope." Scorpius replied, keeping a poker-face.

"No damages?"

"Nuh-uh." Same, non-moving, facial expression. Rosie gave in, accepting for once in his life he had done something right. She plucked a spoon out of the cutlery draw and began eating the chocolate-y breakfast treat.  
"So, I'll get straight to the-"

"What on _Earth_ are you eating?" The young man asked sitting upright, a look of pure horror on his face as he gazed at the small grains of puffed rice. Rosie raised an eye brow then smiled in disbelief.

"Something the conceited swine doesn't know heh…"She said, vacantly. "This, my not-so-dear Malfoy, is what they call cereal." Scorpius glared at her.

"I _know_ that… but isn't cereal meant to look golden? You know? The box with the cockerel on it?"

"_No_, those are 'Kellogs Corn Flakes'. These are 'Coco Pops'. Say it with me now: 'Co-co Pops.'" She smirked, viciously. It was a pretty pointless leverage, but a leverage all the same and Rosie liked winning- no matter how stupid the victory. The blonde didn't surrender, but he didn't argue back. He was too busy ogling the cocoa goodness with a look of disdain and nausea.

"Just-I mean-It's-It's-_eurgh._ Just _look_ at it. It looks _vile_." Scorpius spluttered, much to Rosie's delight.

"Those are my exact thoughts on you, snob." Rosie quipped, smugly. "I'm guessing you want a try though, right?"

"Feed me?"

"Not a chance in the fiery depths of Hell."

"Then, I'll skip." He sulked, crossing his arms, and leaning back into the sofa cushions.

"Not my problem. You're the ignorant one." Rosie took another bite, munching loudly on the not-yet-soaked Coco Pops. After a moment or two of watching Rosie eat, the blonde man stood- still brooding mind- and marched over to where Rosie stood. He, too, plucked a spoon from the draw and somewhat valiantly, dipped it into Rosie's bowl; much to her protest. Putting on a brave face, he lifted the spoon and stuck it in his mouth. It took a few seconds for Scorpius' face to light up, in which he stole more mouthfuls of the cereal from Rosie's serving.

* * *

Eventually, the petite Rosie gave in, shoving her bowl towards Malfoy and pouring herself another one. Thus, it brought them to her dining table where they were sitting across from each other; Rosie glaring with scorching dislike and Scorpius smiling like a 3 year old receiving a teddy bear. He took another large mouth, chewing noisily. Rosie inhaled, irate, then remembered the point of keeping him here.

"You never said. What are you doing here?"

"Oh-degishsezahatlikaftye." He said, still eating. Rosie resisted the urge to heave.

"Okay, now swallow _completely_ and repeat that in clear comprehendible language, alright Malfoy?" She asked, exasperated. He swallowed deeply then spoke again.

"Oh. The. Guys. Said. I. Had. To. Look. After. You." He said, over-enunciating each syllable. Rosie stared at him, fiercely against anyone- especially Malfoy- who insulted her intelligence.

"Oi, shut up, you-" she paused, with sudden realisation. "You're the half-blood. Not me." Malfoy shrugged.

"What's your point?" he asked, clearly not perturbed by the fact. Rosie blinked, unable to comprehend his careless attitude towards the situation.

"What's my- _what's my point_?" She stammered. "You could have armies after you, you git! And you're not bothered in the least bit? Not at all worried about the fact you could be the next missing person I'm trying to find? Not even troubled by the fact you could be skinned alive and- and- and-"

"Whoa, Rosie, you care now, eh?" he asked, grinning. "How about showing some of that gratitude in-"

"Malfoy. Shut up." She snapped. "I'm serious." Scorpius shrugged; evidently not disturbed by the face he might have an army set upon him.

"If worst comes to worst, the department will take me out of the line of fire, right?" he asked, once again eating the chocolate cereal in front of him. "The way I figure it is they'll keep me in 'til there's a threat and then pull me out and I'm fine with that. I like risks. You of all people should know, Rosie-poo…"

"Oh, I do. I just didn't think you were _this_ stupid."

"Not stupid, just brave."

"What's the difference in your case?" she deadpanned, dangerously close to chucking her own spoon at him. The Malfoy prodigy stood, cocking his head as Rosie.

"Unless you're worried, don't complain, Rosie-kin." He said, dumping his bowl in the sink. His words sounded humorous enough but there was something else there. She sighed in contempt and stood herself, heading over to the sink. As she began washing, another thought hit her.

"Malfoy, you can't get into my house by apparation. How did you get inside?" She asked, gradually putting the knife down. Scorpius froze in mid-step.

"Ahh, was hoping you'd overlook that…" He stumbled over the words, slowly edging away from the now more agitated redhead. "Well, you see- it's a… well, a somewhat _interesting_ thing…" Silence followed these words. And then?

"THEY GAVE YOU A DAMNED KEY, DIDN'T THEY?!" Rosie screamed, grabbing the closest thing to her ready to throw.

* * *

**Again, beyond sorry about the delay. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint.**

**See that blue 'Go' button? Maybe possibly press it to give some feedback :) Pleeease? ((heart))**

**Adieu;;**

**Rayy.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rayy's Rant: I know. This update took a while. Sorry, I reallyt am. I was determined to update early but never got the chance. Anyhoo, this chapter is a super long filler, it really is. Probably the longest chapter yet. Bu it's sort of Scorpius' view on the years. He's trying to think why Rosie hates him. This took me forever to write but I'm ill today so I thought 'wth, let's update.'

**Response:**

Firstly; continuous thanks to: xEmmax, ScorpiusRoseLover, Chaotic Veins, marrou, daniela1417, Missdagane, keightlin, TealCrystalCAT, supergirl911, JessFantasy16, ilovehp57 & Noterwomann – effing rockerss :)

Secondly:

Gryffindor.Princess1014/Kayy: I know, I know. About time :) I'm taking your advice. More updates. Sexual tension? Ooh-arrr. Ah, it's unclear why Rose hates Scorpius. I'm hoping to include some flashbacks to Hogwarts days in this chapter. Look out. ;)

JessFantasy16: late reviewer? I care not. You still review and that's what puts the smile on my not-so-pretty face :) Thank you very much, I'm hoping my story sticks to what you say it is ;)

Phaethon: Yaaay. I forgive you, oh great creator of Smith. Ehh, I thought I screwed the dream scene up. Glad I didn't. And you did manage witty banter between the two- I often lol'ed, as you say, while reading your stories. And updates will be as fast as they can be :D

irene0222: here you go ;) Hope you like it.

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing you recognise.**

**CLAIMER: This plot is mine. You-steal, me-murder-you. :)**

_**ALSO: This chapter has quite a bit of swearing in places. And slightly sexually based comments. I'm hoping it's nothing 'M' rated. If it is, please say. I'll edit them out! Also: this chapter hasn't been beta-ed so you're gonna have to tell me if there are any mistakes. I'll edit those out too.**_

_**NOW?**_

On with the show…

* * *

Scorpius rubbed his bruised cheek as he and Rosie Weasley entered the Auror department. _Always the same cheek, always the same wound…_ he thought miserably, thinking back to the old days. When he said old days, of course, he meant Hogwarts. _Ah, yes… Hogwarts…_ Those had probably been the best days of his life, lounging about pointlessly with James. It had been great. It would have been even greater- he shot a sideways glance at the redhead beside him- if _someone_ had agreed to go out with him. He'd never got that. He was hot, he had brains, his sense of humour was that of a true comedian yet she'd never once said yes to his proposals. Why? She was beautiful, she had brains- plus a figure to kill- yet she stayed in the library, reading up on spells for people 10x her age. They could have been perfect. They _should _have been perfect. What had she ever had against it? …

**1****st**** Year; Day One.**

_ Scorpius sat on the seat at the front of the Great Hall, the Sorting Hat upon his head. It was in deep thought. Its first thoughts had been Slytherin. Scorpius, himself, wasn't bothered what house he was in. He was just there, going to Hogwarts a smile upon his face. He glanced around the hall, while waiting for his 'judgement'. The Potters he recognised. He'd made friends with James on the train- James deciding he was worthy when he tripped Richard Goyle up when Goyle was attempting to barge past a small cluster of girls. Apparently Richard Goyle and Titus Crabbe were _not_ the people to mess with when alone but with James Potter? You were alright. And, since Scorpius had been alright in his books, Scorpius was spared._

"_I would say Slytherin, but though cunning, it is not where you reside." the baritone voice mused. Malfoy looked further down the table, observing any familiar faces. "You are kind, but Hufflepuff's not your side." He saw Albus whispering animatedly with some redhead- who seemed recognizable but Scorpius couldn't tell who. Finally, the girl turned and he put a name to the angelic face. "Not Ravenclaw, though you _are_ clever." Rose Weasley. He hadn't cared to be in any house before. No, not before this. The second a small yet reassuring smile graced her fair and freckled face, his mind was set. "Oh, really now?" _Come on…_ "I suppose so," _Yes… Come on…_ "Malfoy's are all Slytherin…" _No… No-no-no…_ "But you're Gryffindor, however!" _YES! GET IN! _The new Malfoy heir beamed, letting Professor Longbottom remove the talking hat. It seemed to be silence in the Great Hall for a moment or two then applause broke out, the Gryffindor table all cheering loudly. Scorpius grinned as James stood, whooping loudly- and thoughtlessly._

"_Yeah, mate! That's what I'm talking about!! That's our freaking Malfoy!!" he yelled, laughing. Scorpius snickered as a Professor tapped the eldest Potter on the shoulder from behind, making him sit down. The first year sat down beside the older boy, in no time; sharing smiles, handshakes and introductions around the table. Though overjoyed, the blonde had only one thing, or _person_, in mind. He looked around- on the verge of panic- then relaxed. There, sat diagonal to him was Rose Weasley. Heaven-send, angelic Rose Weasley. He grinned at her, mouthing the word 'hey' as the noise died down. She nodded her head in acknowledgement, her lips twitched upwards._

Now that he thought about it, Day One she'd smiled at him openly. So, the hatred hadn't sparked from A) being a Malfoy, B) being a Malfoy not in Slytherin or C) being a Malfoy in Gryffindor. She'd hated him in second year from the start- or so it seemed…

**2****nd**** Year; Halloween.**

_ The now second year Scorpius Malfoy and the third year James Potter marched into the Great Hall smirking. It was a fantastic celebration, filled to the brim with frightening pranks waiting to be tried out, unsuspecting students to be ambushed and hallways to be swamped. Nodding to each other with confidence, they delved in their pockets pulling out the recently acquired items from 'WWW'. Both headed to the end of the Gryffindor table, despite their seats being on the other side, and briefly conversed with the Gryffindors sitting there. Then, without a warning, they threw the objects they'd salvaged up into the air. A loud bang resonated through the chambers and the two crawled under the table. There were a few screams at first, and then laughter erupted with applause. James and Scorpius shared a look of determination and dived to the end of the table, sliding into their seats. There, resting above the Gryffindor table, were thousands of brightly coloured fireworks flying to and fro. Included in these lights, were the words: 'Happy Halloween, you poxy buggers. Hell has arrived in the forms of Prongs Jr. and Draconic'. The lights morphed between bats and pumpkins and littered the tables and floors of the Great Hall, occasionally falling on the poor unaware student. The two high-fived, then began talking dramatically as if they'd been immerged in conversation the entire time._

_ It was then Rose Weasley and Albus Potter decided to arrive in the Great Hall. Scorpius whipped his head around, eager to see the female's reaction. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. There _had _to be something wrong there. Whilst everyone was smiling, including a few teachers, there Rosie stood. _Scowling_. Why was she scowling?! They'd just pulled their first stunt of the year… and she was scowling?! What was wrong with the girl? Albus seemed to look around for candidates for the prank while Rosie fixed her eyes on the two boys. James shrugged grinning at his cousin and Scorpius- determined not to be put off- winked at her, grinning as well. Rosie rolled her eyes and walked to the other side of the table, far away from the pranksters, and sat down with some other students. Albus, meanwhile, nodded a goodbye to her and joined the two at the top.  
"Hello, cough-Prongs-Jr-and-Draconic-cough, you two." He said, smirking. He sat down beside Scorpius. James put on an innocent face._

"_Why, I don't know what you mean, dearest brother." He said, smiling brightly. A few girls sitting near swooned at the action. "Scorpius, lo how he mocks us!" Scorpius made a distorted sound of acknowledgement, still keeping an eye on Rosie._

"_Oi, James. I think someone's eying up our darling cousin." Albus put in slyly, catching a glance of Scorpius' gaze. That brought the Malfoy back to reality. He flushed red, shrugging nonchalantly._

"_Aw, no way! Ickle Scorpsy fancies ROSIE!" James began to roar in laughter. Scorpius, in the mean time, panicked._

"_I do not! Keep your voice down, damnit Potter, she might hear you with your large gob!" he hissed, denial seeping through the first words._

"_Then why are you acting so vehement? Hm? Surely, if it's a rumour then it means nothing, right?" Albus added beaming at the Malfoy. Scorpius groaned as the girls surrounding James 'aw-ed'._

"_That's, like, so cuuute!"_

"_You should so ask her out!"_

"_She's well sweet! You'd so go together!"_

_The blonde second year covered his face with his hand and let his head fall onto the table. "I do not fancy her." He said, stubbornly, his voice muffled by both the table and his hand. James ruffled the boy's already messy hair._

"_Don't worry. She's only just started looking." He soothed, mockingly. Scorpius sat straight up, almost falling off the bench in the process. The two Potter brothers snickered as Rosie eyed Scorpius with a look crossed between bewilderment and disgust. The love struck boy merely sent a lopsided smile her way- the second she turned around of course- and returned his head to the table. There it stayed while the Head teacher, Professor McGonagall, gave her speech._

Okay, so Second Year was a no-no… He still couldn't figure out for the life of him why she turned him down… What was Third Year like…?

_**Third Year; Christmas.**_

_ Scorpius sat in the Gryffindor Common Room. He and James had taken up the sofa by the fireplace, telling stories to first years about their many pranks. A few other students had gathered, including Albus- who put in a word or two every now and then- and Hugo Weasley- a second year and Rose's younger brother. The four mentioned were wearing seasonal Santa hats and grinning madly._

"_And then…" James continued in an eerie voice. "Just as the Bloody Baron was about to walk in on our marvellous project… WHOOSH!" The students gasped. "We flung on the invisibility cloak and ran past him!" They eleven year olds cheered. Scorpius merely nodded, smiling smugly._

"_Of course, he didn't even know what had hit him. He didn't even acknowledge us. And to this day, he's clueless on how masses of toilet roll got their way onto the stairs." Applause erupted. "Thank you, thank you."_

"_You're too kind…" James chimed in. "Of course, that wasn't our _best_ work, was it Scorp?" he asked his blonde counterpart._

"_Oh, hell no!" he grinned. "We've done so much more, but-"_

"_We wanna chill out now-"_

"_So, go on-"_

"_Disperse, munchkins."_

"_Shoo." The first years groaned but left all the same, leaving James, Scorpius, Albus and Hugo to occupy the sofa's by the hearth._

"_Ah…" James sighed in content. "This is the life…"_

"_Our legacy will be passed on for year to come." Scorpius added, smirking. Albus raised an eyebrow, amused._

"_Oh, yeah, what a legacy of the boy who daren't even ask Rosie Weasley out."_

"_Oi, Weasley's scary as fuck!" He sulked. Hugo shot him a look._

"_That's my sister you're talking about." He warned. Scorpius shrugged._

"_Can you deny the fact she scares the shit out of you?" he asked, warily. Hugo paused, shuddering, then nodded in agreement._

"_Agreed. Scary. _Very_ scary." he let out, shakily._

"_Aw, poor kid." James sympathized. "You've had the worst of it, haven't you?" Hugo nodded, collapsing further into his chair. Scorpius shook his head._

"_Nu-uh. She's nice to you occasionally."_

"_Yeah," Albus put in, "Scorp, oh buddy oh pal, you are Rosie's pet peeve."_

"_How's that make you feel?" James asked grinning. Scorpius let his head fall back in response. "Oh, that bad?" He nodded miserably. "Poor mite." James nudged him with his foot. "Cheer up, she'll come 'round some day." Scorpius raised an eyebrow. With brilliant timing, Rosie entered the common room- hands laden with books. As she caught Hugo's eye she smiled slightly. Naturally, this smile turned into a look of pure hatred and stormed up the stairs. Albus let out a low whistle._

"_What on Earth did you do for that?" he asked, his volume lowered. "That look's worse than normal." James piped up at the same time Scorpius said 'nothing'._

"_Ooh! Me! Me! Pick me!" He chirped. Malfoy glared at him._

"_Go ahead, traitor." James beamed._

"_Well, the great legends, also known as James & Scorpius, were walking down the corridor, when who else but Rosie Weasley walks out of a nearby class room. James, being great as he is, dares Scorpius to ask out Rosie-kin. The second-best prankster, Malfoy, refuses at first but then is mysteriously pushed from behind-" At this, Scorpius shot a nasty look at his best friend. "- and almost into Rosie. She see's his shadow and looks around to see who it is. Of course, Scorpius looks somewhat silly, so he ruffles his hair, then grins and says 'Hey, Weasley. How you doing?' Said Weasley glares and responds curtly with a 'Fine' to which Scorpius replies 'You bet you are'. The previously mentioned Weasley glares, yet again, and raises an eyebrow. She asks: 'Do you have a reason to talk to me or is it the usual brainless wit of yours?'. Scorpius' reply? 'Go out with me, Weasley'. Rosie stormed off, leaving Scorpius with a sore cheek- from a back hand- and James with unlimited source of destruction." The relatives burst out laughing while Scorpius sunk into his seat, pulling his Santa Hat over his eyes._

Ah. That was failure. Even Scorpius could say that. The girl had made him nervous so he freaked out. In a very Malfoy-like fashion, of course. Now Fourth Year? Ooft.

_**Fourth Year; Valentines Day.**_

_ Scorpius waited at the bottom of the stairs. It was morning, 9 o'clock to be precise. And 9 o'clock was when Rosie woke on holidays. This holiday, he'd heard, she was going to be by herself. Her friends had dates and she didn't. Scorpius didn't doubt she'd had admirers. He did, however, doubt she accepted any. She wasn't interested in love- not at the moment anyway. And if she was? Well, she didn't show it. And Scorpius was determined to spread a little love on her literary world._

_ As predicted, she made her way down the stairs in no time whatsoever. She did, though, freeze upon seeing the sight before her. There Malfoy stood, a bouquet of roses in one hand, a box of Honeydukes in the other and a hopeful smile on his face. She began walking again, heading down the stairs and past Scorpius with speed. Of course, the blonde boy- persistent as ever- followed. Before he could say anything, Rosie interrupted._

"_No."  
"Hey, I haven't even said anything yet." the boy complained._

"_You were going to ask me to go out with you today. As you do everyday. And I said, as I say everyday to you, 'no'." She said firmly, exiting the common room via the portrait._

"_Just go out with me." he said, trailing after her._

"_I stick by my answer-"_

"_Which is-"_

"_NO."_

"_Come on, Weasley. Why so cold?" Scorpius whined, walking beside her._

"_Why so warm, would be the better question Malfoy."_

"_Why else? I fancy you, love."_

"_Right, and Albus is the queen of all things fair."_

"_Is he now?" Scorpius asked, playing along with a smirk. Rosie rolled her eyes, obviously not appreciating his humour. _

"_Get out of here, Malfoy."  
"Tell you where I'd like to be in…" He said, with a suggestive grin whilst eying her quite openly. Rosie's eyes widened noticeably. She settled with a look of utmost repulsion._

"_You insane, perverted prick." She said; a tone of disgust present in her voice._

"_Only for you, babe." And with that, she shoved him into a nearby wall and stormed off. He sighed. "You can't deny your feelings for me forever!"_

"_Watch me!" She yelled back, turning a corner and out of view. Just as she turned, Scorpius yelled out once more._

"_That means you have them! HAHA! I knew you wanted me!" He shouted loudly, a 100 watt smile on his face. He didn't miss the rude gesture sent his way as she stomped away._

She denied him. Again. How many times had he asked her out that year? Everyday. Twice on special occasions. And every time? No. That's all he got from her. Of course, each time she said it, she used such vigour and originality. He, personally, blamed the books she read for giving her such creative ways to reject him…

_**Fifth Year; On the Train.**_

_ Scorpius, after mainly dead ends and plenty stumbling, finally found the compartment James was in. He grinned at his friend and entered. As always, the compartment had the usual setting. Albus, Hugo and James by the window, a seat saved for Scorpius right next to the window beside Albus, and Lily and Rose by the compartment door- usually discussing interesting books and such like. It was an unwritten rule they all sat together. In Second Year, when Rose attempted to leave after seeing Scorpius inside, Albus and James dragged her back. They went they're separate ways after the ride, and met again at the end of the year on the way back._

_ As Scorpius took his seat by the window, he couldn't help but to overhear Rose's talk of Prefects. "I can't imagine which other Gryffindor has got it…" She said to an eagerly listening Lily. "I thought it would be Al- he's a good student… most of the time- but it's not… I've got to go to the Prefects compartment in a bit as well. They have a talk to explain everything about Prefect duties and that stuff." James noticed where Scorpius' attention dwelled, and threw a Chocolate Frog at his head. The blonde caught it and looked at the Sixth Year._

'_What?' he mouthed._

"_You've got it, haven't you?" James whispered, grinning. Scorpius shrugged, his lips twitched upwards._

"_What do you think?" he asked the eldest Potter quietly._

"_I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" James exclaimed. Scorpius slapped himself on the forehead. "Oi, Rosie, guess who Gryffindor have got for 5th Year prefects?" Rosie's mouth opened in a perfect 'o'. She shook her head, frantically._

"_No. No _way_. McGonagall hasn't lost her mind yet." She said, probably half trying to convince herself. The rest of the compartment snickered. Rosie stood. "You?! How on Earth did you get it?!" she snapped._

"_I guess McGonagall saw the light. What about you sweet-cheeks?" Rosie rolled her eyes._

"_I'm going to the Prefects compartment…" she mumbled and walked off. Scorpius stood, beaming.  
"I'll join you, honey-bear!" He cried, following her out but not before winking at the rest of the compartment occupants. He followed the auburn haired angel. "Oh, and Rosie, go out with me."  
"PISS OFF, MALFOY!"_

_The rest of the compartment was in silence. Then, James broke out into laughter._

"_That bloody bastard. I knew he kept his grades up…" he said through hysteria._

Malfoy smiled in reminiscence. Ah, yes. That was probably the best train ride ever. As much as he loved Rosie dearly, and by Merlin he did, he also loved annoying her to no ends. Wait, wait. He was looking for reasons why she didn't go out with him, not what he loved doing… He racked his mind for anything else he could think of…

_**Sixth Year; By the Lake.**_

_ The usual crowd were by the lake this fine summer afternoon. James was busy flirting with some 7th year girl while Scorpius was watching Rosie. She was sitting with her 'friend'. Who happened to be a boy… But Rosie had sworn- not to Scorpius of course, but to James- they weren't going out. Scorpius scoffed. They were acting a bit chummy for not going out. Speaking of going out, there was one thing he hadn't done._

"_Oi, Weasley."_

"_No, Malfoy." She replied curtly, not even turning around. The boy she was talking to grinned slightly at her dismissal of his words. Scorpius scowled._

"_I hadn't said anything, though." He complained, keeping his bravado. Rosie sighed, turning around. Now, _that_ seemed to agitate her boy 'friend'._

"_You were going to though, weren't you? Go on. Go ahead. Say it." She said, exasperated. Scorpius took a small glance at her male companion then grinned widely._

"_You know your friend, right?" Rosie raised an eyebrow._

"_His name's Jack, for Merlin's sake, and what about him?"_

"_He's checking you out." Rosie eyed him suspiciously and turned to face 'Jack'. Poor Jack didn't even notice until Scorpius spoke to him. "Ah, Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. I really don't blame you mate. She has a nice rack, doesn't she? She really does. Hell, I check her out all the time. Thing is, she never seems to mind me doing that." Jack looked up, embarrassed but his curiosity was still piqued. Rosie, however, was not amused by Scorpius' stunt. But the blonde was already on a roll. He was jealous. Rosie knew he liked her. Her flirting right in front of him wasn't fair. So, he was getting even. "Yeah, that's right. I've never really seen her complain when I give her a good eye. She's such a tease, isn't she? She really hasn't got a clue that half the stuff she does gives us pain, eh?" He drawled, sending a pointed look at Jack. Jack seemed to nervously shuffle. He grabbed his things and quickly murmured an excuse, fleeing the scene. Scorpius grinned, stretching. "So, Rosie. Go out with me. I'll follow up the looks I send you." Rosie stood, her mouth set in a grim line. She gathered her things._

"_You're a real piece of work, Malfoy. I do hope you fall into the lake." Scorpius didn't know what happened. One second, he was dry and lazing comfortably on the grass. The next? He was in the Lake. Silence followed that. Even James had stopped flirting to watch the scene. Scorpius pulled himself out, drawing his own wand. He dried himself off with a quick spell._

"_Rosie, darling, I could be a lot worse." He said scowling. "For instance, I could say 'I do hope your skirt falls down' or something along those lines. But why? I'm sure it's nothing I haven't seen before."_

"_Yes, because you're a man whore, aren't you?"_

"_I'll have you know I haven't gone out with anybody."_

"_No, you just slept with them until you got bored."  
"And each time I thought of you, dear."_

"_Oh, come _off _it, Malfoy. Drop the act. It wasn't funny in 2nd Year, it's not funny now. You like your jokes! Fine, we get it! Now, just leave me alone you arrogant toe rag!" She snapped, stomping off towards the castle. Scorpius gathered his own things, storming to the Quidditch pitch and far away from the girl who set his heart singing. _

Gah, 6th Year. That was probably the worst fight they ever had. Sure, they fought a lot normally- but that one was awful. They hadn't actually apologized for the incident. They'd just gone back to normal after a few weeks with a bit more malice behind Rosie's words and a bit more feeling behind Scorpius'. Finally, the last year they saw each other… 7th Year.

_**Seventh Year; Last Quidditch Match.**_

_ Scorpius took a dive, Jack close on his tail. He'd seen in glint, he needed that Snitch. He was better than Jack in everyway. He looked better, talked better, walked better and played Quidditch better. He could own Slytherins seeker _any day_. He took a sharp turn upwards as the Snitch veered again. As he went, he caught a glimpse of auburn hair. Rosie- one of the team's chasers and the team captain- scored. She flew back to the other chasers, ready for the next opportune moment to catch the Quaffle. That wasn't what got his attention though. It was the words from her lips._

_"FUCKING GO, MALFOY! GET THAT BLOODY SNITCH, YOU PRICK!" Sure. Everyone was cheering for him. She wasn't even cheering nicely. She was probably making him go because she was captain. Even with all of those excuses, he couldn't prevent his heart from back flipping a few million times per second. He would win. Not for Gryffindor. For her. _

_"Look at him go! Scorpius Malfoy- Gryffindors Head Boy; prankster extraordinaire- versus Jack Clarke- Slytherins prefect and the almost winner of my dear cousin Rosie Weasleys heart. Scorpius chased _him_ off- oh, sorry Professor…" Lily Potter resumed commentating the last game of the year, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. "It seems a bit more than a game at stake, but watch Malfoy go! He's on fire! What speed. Who knew that encouraging words from my cousin would send him this-What's this?! He's caught it! Scorpius Malfoy has caught the Snitch, winning Gryffindor the House Cup! Go wild, world, go wild!!" Scorpius swerved, landing. With his broom in one hand and the Golden Snitch in the other, he ran to the rest of his team and many Gryffindors who ran onto the pitch. He smirked as the chorus of 'Go, go, Gryffindor!' erupted. He shared a hug- a man hug, of course- with Albus and Hugo; the team beaters. Rosie ran in, grinning wildly._

"_WE DID IT! We bloody did it! We won!" She cried, loudly. They all grinned, acknowledging her. Pushing his luck, perhaps for the last time in a while, Scorpius said the same old words._

"_OI! WEASLEY. GO OUT WITH ME."_

"_Not a chance in the fiery depths of hell." She replied, smirking and disappeared into the crowd. Scorpius stood there, a small blush gracing his features. She'd smirked at him. Rosie Weasley has smirked at him. Rose. Weasley. Smirked. At. Him. He punched the air, beaming madly._

"_Fuck, yes! That's what I'm talking about!" he yelled, while Albus pulled him into a headlock._

"_You know she still hates your guts right?" He asked. "She's just being nice since you won her the cup."_

"_Don't care. I really don't." Scorpius smirked._

'Ah, that was a nice match to win.' Scorpius mused to himself. He looked at Weasley once more. They hadn't exactly parted on good terms, what with him planting a smooch on her lips then scampering off with James. She couldn't have held a grudge this long. Scorpius sighed to himself. He was missing something, he really was. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why she hated him.

* * *

Wow. I'm feeling quite proud I wrote that much. Give me a reason to be proud? I love your reviews... hint hint...

Adieu,

Rayy.

xox.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognise.  
Claimer: This plot, as far as I know, is mine.**  
_On with the show..._

* * *

Rose sighed angrily as she went to relieve her Pigeon Hole of the stacks of paper it held. One weekend. That was all it had been. _One weekend._ And yet, here she was, subject to the torment of millions of letters, memos and parcels. She checked her watch as she stumbled to her office. She had 15 minutes to the briefing of the situation at hand. It gave her plenty time to sort out her wandering thoughts and work out some theories for herself.

She eventually got to her room and dumped the stray papers down on the desk inside. Rosie sat in her chair, skimming through the papers. She lived in a magical London yet she could never bring herself to break away from the working habits of the Muggles. Her friends and colleagues would often question this to which she would respond with a noncommittal grunt and continue on her way. It was how the red-head worked. She disliked how the Muggle way was so looked down on, as well. She guessed she got her rights protesting side from her mother. No doubt, this guess was spot on. Hermione Granger-Weasley was, after all, the creator of SPEW.

--

Meanwhile, Scorpius Malfoy sat in his own office, lazily sorting through his leftover work. His office, no surprise, was situated far _far_ away from Rosie's- and for good reason too. His reading glasses were perched precariously on the bridge of his nose. All in all, he looked quite content with his current position, very laid back in his cushioned chair. That is, until he straightened, his eyes focussing on the document in hand.

There, on paper, a formal lettering. Not from the fugitives, no. But from his _family_. He had been quick to assume that his father or mother had been taken hostage or something of the sort but almost burst out laughing as he read the contents of the letter. It had started off the same way as always; neat, polite, plain small talk. There then appeared to have been some struggle in which the handwriting switched from his fathers to his mothers in which she scrawled, in her cursive, a desperate plea for him to remove himself from the scene to reduce chances of him being hurt or- if worst came to worst- killed. Another switch, in which his father apologized for his mothers over-protective side and her refusal to let him rewrite the letter. Finally, Draco concluded to wish Scorpius the best of luck and good health as he progressed in the case.

The young man couldn't help smiling as he finished scanning through the letter. His father had never been terribly compassionate. Scorpius had by no means been neglected or anything of the sort. Merlin, no. His father had just always had a lot of trouble showing affection. According to his mother it had always been this way. This was probably the most heartfelt he got. The letter was probably the start of many to come but he still tucked the paper away in his private drawer, keeping it safe there. It gave him some sort of reassurance, even though it meant nothing.

A smile graced his features as he made to sit down. As he sat in the chair, the once bright lights dimmed. Scorpius froze, the etched smile fading. He immediately groped for his wand only to find it nowhere near him. He stopped his search as he felt a cool rod of wood touching his neck.

"Watch it, Malfoy," A voice hissed, slicing the silent air like a knife. "It would be terrible to have a slip-up with your half-blood neck, wouldn't it?" The said half-blood stayed silent and unmoving. "I heard you were a talker. Nothing to say?"

"What do you want?" Scorpius asked, his voice unwavering. The being threatening him chuckled deeply and he could only assume his 'attacker' was a man. Unless, of course, it was a highly masculine female… But now wasn't the time to contemplate such issues. He had bigger things to focus on.

"I don't want anything. _Yet._ Just a friendly warning. Lay off."

"You know I won't. Is there a point in this little rendezvous?"

"We were hoping you would co-operate. You've failed to notice a key detail."

"You know where I work?"

"We know _everything_." And without another word, the person behind him disappeared with a crack.

Scorpius leapt to his feet, summoning his wand. He threw another spell, setting the light switch on again. His office was clean. There wasn't a clue anywhere. He looked around, a dangerous frown set on his now grim face. Something was off. The people targeting him wouldn't send someone after him for no apparent reason but an aimless threat. He shoved his wand back into his pocket, moodily. This was going to puzzle him. And he hated being puzzled- by anything.

* * *

Fifteen minutes passed only too soon, and Rosie made her way to the briefing. She had long gotten over the fact her very own Uncle would host most of these, especially the important cases entrusted to few. She arrived, to no ones surprise, first. Harry- yes, that's right, Harry Potter- stood flicking through some papers. He looked up, smiling pleasantly, albeit wearily, at her.

"Tired, Potter?" she asked, grinning. He shrugged, putting the papers down.

"Somewhat- but don't worry Rosie. You'll be soon too."

"As if I'm not tired enough already, Uncle-y-poo."

"Then suck it up, niece-y-moo." He replied, not missing a beat. Rosie laughed, perching on a nearby table. In no time, more wizards and witches began to file in. Granted, there were quite a few, it was a great deal less than the usual briefing and most there. These, here, were the Wizarding detectives. They were the best. They were the elite. They were Aurors.

--

"Is everyone here?" Harry's voice rang out throughout the room. Murmurs of acknowledgement followed his question. He nodded curtly. "Well, then-"

"No, wait." Albus spoke up. "Where's Scorp?" More mutters followed. The Aurors looked around, seeing no sign of the almost-peroxide blonde. Panic didn't emerge but there was worry. Possible theories spouted out. Just then, said young man burst through the door. Scorpius looked exceedingly dishevelled, his appearance more ruffled than his usual rough look. He sent a reassuring grin at those present in the room.

"Sorry I'm late, folks, I got caught up in something." he explained grinning.

"Is this something a worthwhile excuse?" Harry asked; his voice half amused, half stern. Scorpius shook his head.

"Won't happen again, sir."

"Should hope so." He reprimanded. The eldest man looked around. "_Now_ can we begin?" He asked, impatience in an undertone. There was a sharp 'yes' and Harry began. "We know the situation, don't we?" Murmured yeses. "Tell me, people, what is there?"

"People are being targeted." A female voice rang out.

"Good, Scarlet. Anyone more specific?"

"Half-bloods, to be precise." A few troubled glances.

"Thank you, Andrew. How many deaths so far?"

"Unsure, but twenty missing so far."

"Exactly. So, you can see my problem. This criminal is still out there. This is, obviously, pathetic. It means we haven't stopped him. And _it's not good enough_. This person needs to be off the streets and in Azkaban, damn it! We need…"

--

'_Killer_' Scorpius thought, bitterly as Harry raged on. '_There's more than one…_' He knew he should have told the others about his previous meeting but he couldn't say anything. He, also, was well aware of the fact Harry was talking but he couldn't bring himself to dedicate his attention to the vanquisher of Voldemort. He knew the facts. Twenty half-bloods were dead. Yes, he knew they said missing but he couldn't, for a second, believe they were really missing. Their fates were sealed when they weren't found. He looked around the room. How many half-blood were there? His eyes caught Rosie's. She, unsurprisingly, hadn't seemed to buy his loose and evasive excuse. This didn't shock him. Rosie was a sharp cookie. There was only _one_ way to throw her off his trail.

The young man winked, flashing Rosie a sly grin. It worked almost instantly. Rosie sent a repulsed glare his way and turned back to face Harry. Scorpius breathed the smallest sigh of relief. He loved her, yes, but this was something he didn't need her in on. She'd probably help whoever it was knock him off. Immediately, he berated himself for thinking such thoughts. This was _Rosie Weasley_ he was talking about. She could do no wrong. It was impossible.

--

Whilst listening to her Uncle Harry, Rosie couldn't help but to stay suspicious of Scorpius. He'd noticed her previous attempts at sussing him out but the way he dismissed her was certainly a straight giveaway. There was no mouthed attempt of flattery, just a wink. It was obvious something was amiss here. She looked again from the corner of her eye to see the blonde. He was barely paying attention to what Harry Potter was saying, but instead in his own world; his mouth set in a grim line and concentration carved into his expression. He again seemed to sense someone looking at him as he glanced up again. He surveyed the room, watching for anyones eyes but, finding none, looked down again.

--

"… And so, we know what we have to do." Harry finished up. "Go out there, and do it. Have brief discussions with your partners now because I want everybody out on the scene tomorrow." There were words of agreement and the Aurors dispersed. The dark haired man couldn't help but notice the two lagging behind, his niece and his ex-nemesis' son. They'd been partnered up, not for their undying love- or lack of it, but for their sharp brains. They were probably the smartest around at the time and, now the Ministry was stacked with competent staff, he intended to use them to their greatest strengths. He could only imagine what Ron's reaction would be. 'Rosie? With Scorpius? Hah. She doesn't need his help. She could solve the case by herself. Got her mothers brain, she has, and her fathers strength. She doesn't need anyone.' Harry laughed to himself as he gathered his things and left the briefing room himself.

--

There was an awkward silence as Weasley and Malfoy walked side by side. This, itself, was bad. Usually when they walked, there were loud- and large amounts- of bickering, yet there they walked in absolute quiet. For once, Rosie almost- emphasis on the word _almost_- wanted him to talk. Even he was only going to verbally shit. She again, to her utmost chagrin, had to resort to shooting sideways glances at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Eventually, it was clear to see she was failing miserably. She sighed in disdain and quickened her pace. She was shocked as Malfoy matched her pace and, not seconds later, begin talking.

"Where do you think we should start?" The blonde asked, the only signs of his previous thought being the remains of a pensive look. Rosie recovered from her surprise quick enough.

"I thought we should check out the missing cases but that'll probably be what everyone else is doing." she replied. Scorpius nodded.

"Exactly. There's no point in having 12 people doing the same thing. I was thinking we delve into the real deal." He said, enthusiastically, a grin present on his face and in his eyes.

"What," Rosie deadpanned, "We kidnap a half-blood and hope that the big bad wolf comes out and says 'hey, join our posse?'" Scorpius laughed, shaking his head.

"No, Weasley. I'm thinking we go into Knockturn Alley." He half said, half whispered, his eyes glinting. "Into the core of the people. There's bound to be more talk there than the victims shaken family members." Rosie nodded slowly.

"I see what you mean… but would it be safe? You can tell I'm a Weasley and yourself a Malfoy."

"Not if we-"

"I am _not_ dressing up." she hissed before he could finish. Scorpius smiled, not deterred by her abrupt dismissal.

"Don't think of it as dressing up. It's more like… disguise… cover, to be honest." Before she could interrupt, he went in for the kill. "Or is the great Rose Weasley more worried about her image than the lives of innocent people?" Now, _that_ shut her up. Rosie huffed, and when asked again by the Malfoy, she nodded stiffly. "Great. I know just the place to go." And with that, he dragged her off towards his office.

--

Scorpius grinned as he opened the door. Before he finally set off with Rosie, he needed-

"Oh, dear _Merlin_." The auburn haired lady gasped. Scorpius smile faded the second he got to look at his inner office. Books were thrown carelessly around, papers shredded on the floor, his furniture toppled and his fireplace burning dimly, a green still present in the flames. He immediately dropped Rosies wrist and dove to his drawer, his private drawer. No one was supposed to be able to get in there. No one but him. So why…

Frantically he searched on the floor for the drawers contents, feeling borderline hysteria. He ignored Rosies words as she tried to ask what was going on. It was all gone, all of it. He felt sick. All the things in that drawer… Pictures from his childhood… of his family… of Hogwarts… of his friends… of _Rosie_. He sat back in disbelief. Not only did they have the pictures… they had his parents' letter. His parents details were on that. And those sick bastards were probably laughing at his possessions. He didn't care what they thought though; his main thoughts were that they _had_ them. The Ministry of Magic, especially the Auror department, was meant to have top security. He stood, engulfed in shock and rage at the same time, and stormed out. Behind him, a worried redhead scurried behind.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm sorry, I say this every time but this chapter is possibly worse than last times. Here's how it is. I don't think I'll ever update in set intervals. I don't think I have a set chapter size- it only has a minimum word count. I'm a terrible author, I know. But my life really is too hectic. I won't make excuses because that's not the point. It's not why I didn't update, it's that I didn't.

I'm taking a reviewers advice. Answering to my reviews on here is taking up room and it's silly that you have to wait for ages for response. I lost track of all reviews for chapter four. I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you, I really am. Thank you to everyone, though. I will make sure to do so this time. If you still wanna review, that is.

I've changed POV a lot in this chapter. I feel it was necessary, but if it's horrid, do say. I'll refrain from repeating the error I hope. The POV changes should be represented with "--". If not, my bad.

I'd like to say, I've got the blood status thing wrong. A reviewer pointed that out. I've done it differently because this is how I wanted it to work, instead of the poor damsel in distress needing to be rescued. Rosie, in this one story, is pureblood. I've said this because both her parents are magic folk. Scorpius is a half-blood because his father, Draco, is a wizard and his mother, Astoria, is a muggle- in my books anyway.

Finally, another apology to all of you. I feel terrible, I really do. No matter what's going on in my life, I should _always_ update my story. I've started, so I'm going to finish. I won't give up on this story, even if I have other ideas for other things. Even if it takes forever, I'm hoping to finish it and I'm hoping everyone who reads this will be there to finish the story with me.

Any feedback- including flames- is appreciated.

Rayy.


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